Domestic appliance



Nov. 28, 1944. D. K. FERRIS DOMESTIC APPLIANCE Filed Aug. 14, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet l rllL Nov. 28, 1944. D. K. FERRIS DOMESTIC APPLIANCE Filed Aug. 14, 1941 2- Sheets-Sheet 2 o I O M 1 J V m i m I. a w w f \[I/ 1 lllllllluull &( IIIHHHHIIA mHr IIL gmu/eypwg Patented Nov. 28, 1944 a DOMESTIC APPLIANCE a Donald K. Ferris, Dayton, Ohio, assignor to General Motors Corporation poration of Delaware Application August 14, 1941, Serial No. 406,882 I (Cl.38-54) 11 Claims.

I This invention relates to domesticappliances, and more particularly to ironers. I

- An object of this invention is to provide an ironer of the portable'type capable of ironing flat work and wearing apparel in an improved manner. I

e I Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings wherein ajpreferred form of the present invention is clearly shown. H

In the drawings: a I a Fig. 1 is a vertical cross-section, partly in ele- .vation, of an ironing machine embodying features of my invention; I

Fig. 2 is a horizontal cross-section taken along theline 2-2 of Fig.1;

Fig. 3is a vertical cross-sectiontaken along the line 3 -3 of Fig. 1; v Fig. 4 isan elevation of a modified form of the invention;

Fi 5 is an elevation of another modified form of the invention;

Fig. 6 is a horizontal cross-section taken along the line 3-6 of Fig. 5; I a I Fig. 7 is a vertical cross-section taken along the line 'I--1 of Fig. 5;

I Fig. 8 is an enlarged detailed view of I a portion Fig. 9 is a drawingshowinga modified form of small shoe applicable to all the embodiments previously referred to. 1

. Fig. 10 is an enlarged horizontal cross-section of-a portion of Fig. 2. 1

An ironing machin embodying my invention,

comprises, general, a power driven roll or rotatable member III, and a plurality of cooperatin shoes II and I2 movableinto contact with Dayton, Ohio, a cor- I 13 and It from leavingan imprint on any material passing through the ironer.

The ,ironer may be provided with a'base I5. The base I 5 maybe provided with an upstanding post I6 at the top of which there is provided motor housing I1. The motor housing is'provided with anextension I8 provided with one or more bearings I9 and on which the cantilever rotatable-shaft 2| is mounted. The roll IO is mounted on the shaft 2! by means of discs or spiders 22 and 23. The shaft 2| is driven byth motor through the medium of speed. reduction gearin 25. The motor 24 is also provided with a fan 26 to circulate air through the housing [-1 to coolthemotor. Because of thesmall amount of power required to operate my improved ironer,

the motor 24 may be of relatively small size. If

desired, it may be of the capacitortype, the con- I denser being mounted at 21. I

The shoes II and-l2 are rockably mounted, so

that theywcan be rocked to and from the roll I0 selectively or together." For this purpose, the shoe II is mounted on an arm 30 supported on a hollow rockable shaft 3|- The other end of the I hollow shaft 3I is provided with a lever or handle 33 having adisc-likeenlargement 34'adapted to I receive the hand. forearm or elbow of the user. By pressing down the disc 34, the shoe I I is locked into engagement with the roll Ill- If desired the arm 30 rnaysupport the-shoe .II by anywell- .known spring support 35 now Well-knownin the art, and which need not be described in detail.

said roll I0 bymeans of physical power derived from the user or operator of the machine.

The shoes II and I2 are preferably so related toeach other that they may beused together for:

the purpose of ironing fiat work or the like, and

- yet they may be used separately for special operations as hereinafter more fully described. I Preferably the shoe II is relatively large in size and the shoe I2 is relatively small in size. The shoe I2 I is particularlyefficient in performing operations which heretofore have been morereadily performed with handirons, such as the ironingof collars of shirts,-cufi s, etc. The shoes II and I2 are provided with substantially parallel edges I 3 and I4 which are placed at an angle to the v path of. movement of the roll. The purpose of this isto prevent the seamformed by theedges The shoe I2 may be supported on an arm 36, similar in constructionto arm 30, and carried by the rock shaft v3 I,which shaft passes through the hollow shaft 3| and is provided atthe other end with alever oruhandle 38. The handle 38 may also be provided with an enlarged disc 39, similar to the disc 34, but preferably extending to a point somewhat nearer the user thanthe disc 34. By this construction,the user may place his forearm or hand on both the disc .34 and 39, if he wishes, causingboth shoes I I and-I2 to be brought into contact with the roll I 0. He may also select which of the shoes he desires to bring into contact by pressing down only the corresponding disc 34 M39. The rock shafts 31 and 3| are carried by stationary bearings 40, and

42 supported on the" base I5.

The shoe l2 preferably has a shape such that small articles may be readily ironed by said shoe with the roll I0. For this purpose the shoe I2 is provided with a point 43 extending further to one side than the trailingedge of the shoe. The p p se Of thisisto enable the user to operate 3 2,363,519 I f" I the shoe I2 close to a-seam of the article being ironed without danger that the edge I 4 may spoil the work after it has passed point .43. The outer edge of the small shoe I2 may be flat as indicated at 45 in Fig. l; or it may be curved as indicated at 45 in Fig. 9. The curving of the edge at 45 in Fig. 9 is particularly advantageous in ironing collars and the like, since it is possible to bring the shoe I20; of Fig. 9 close to the seams'around the collar and also presents a narrower point a In Fig. 4, a modification is shown in which the supported by a pedestal |6b carried by a base,

I519. The interior of the roll I01) and 'its sup levers ti and 62 in such a manner that partial downward movement of the pedal 60 first rocks lever 62 downward, andfurtherdownward movement of theihandle orpedal 60 then rocks the lever 6| downward. To accomplish this, the up- 0 "per end 63 of the pedal 60 is provided with a cross the bar 5 .1 and the levers GI and 62 to permit a slightdifferential. movement between the levers Ill and 62. Automatic stop means are provided which" permit the lever 62 firstto descend, and

ports may be substantially-as indicated in Fig. l.

The relatively large shoe Ilb may be supported by a rockable arm 36b. The arm b is rockably supported on a stationary fulcrum 5|]. The shoe III) is provided with a handle 5|, which the user may grasp and "pull forward toward the user to bring the shoe I lb into contact with the roll Illb. The weight of the shoe IIb retracts the shoe whenthehandle 5| is released. If desired, a spring may be provided to retract the shoe. Likewise the small shoe |2b may be supported on an arm 36b, which is supported in a stationary'fulcrum 52 carried by the base I512. The small shoe may be provided with a handle 53, which the user may bring forward whenever it is desired to bring shoe' |2b intocontact with roll Illb. The shoe |2b is-retracted similarly to in its upper position. The other end 70 of the Tao Ilb and i212 together, so that actuation of either of the handles 5| or 53 alone causes both shoes to be brought into contact with the roll. For this purpose,-lugs 5.4 and 55 are provided in shoes IIb and IZb respectively, and these are connected by means of a pin 56, which ties the two shoes together and causes them to operate as a single shoe." 1 I In the modification" shown in Figs. 5 to 8 inelusive, means are" provided whereby the first actuation of the handle or pedal 60 causes the small shoe |2c first to come into contact with the'roll we. Thereafter, upon further movement of the handle 'or pedal 60,'the relatively large shoe H0 is brought'into contact with the roll I00. By this construction, the user may iron pedestal We carried by the base I50, all substantially as shown and described with regard to Fig. 1. The roll I00 is motor-driven the same as in Fig. l. The large shoe H0 is carried by an arm 35c substantially as shown in Fig. l, which is supported on a hollow rock shaft 3 lo; the other end of which is provided with a lever 6|. The small shoe, I20 is carried by an arm 36c supported on a rock shaft 3'Ic, which passes through the hollow rock shaft 3|c and to the other end of'which is secured a'lever 62. The rock shafts lilo and 3'50 are supported in stationary bearings Mic, Me and 420 carried bybase |5c.

thereafter, upon further movement permits the lever 6| to descend. For this purpose a movable bar 55 is placed underneath the levers 6| and 62.

This bar slides in stationary bearings 66;and 61,

anclis pulled to the left, as shown in the draw tance, then the end '69 of the lever 65 is moved.

from under the lever 6|, by theaction of lever 62 on surface II, and permits lever 6| to be rocked downward; By the aforegoing construction, the first downward movement of pedal'fill causes the lever 62 to be rocked downward a sufiicient distance to bringthe shoe |2c into Q9111 tact with the roll I00, and-a further downward movement of the pedal '60,;permitted'bythe usual spring support'between the arm 36c and the shoe I20, causes the shoe No to be brought into contact'with the roll-lllc. 1 The small shoes l2, |2b and"|2c'may, 'if de sired, be shaped as shown in'Fig 9. The motor 24 may be controlled .by a suitable hand switch, not shown, and conveniently mountedeitheron the housing I1, I lb or ||c, or on the bases; I51) or I5c, or maybe started by a switch [2 which is closed by the downward movement of the levers33, 38, 6| and 62, or by the rocking of arms 30b and 36b. Y

Since there are times when one desires -to' use the"i'roner"for ironing fabrics without moving the fabrics under the shoe so as to avoid putting a sheen on the fabrics, it isne'cessary'tobe able to press theshoe against theroll without closing the switch I2. The relationship of the switch 12 and the shoe operating levers is such that initial movement of a shoe operating lever moves the shoe operated thereby into engagement with the roll but does not close the switch. Inorder to close the switch, the shoe operating lever must be moved still further. I

As shown in Figsrl, 2 and 3,-latches 15 may be provided for holding the levers 34 and 39 down; when desired. 'The'latches 15 are normally ineffective and in order to make the same efiective; it is necessary to'press the shoe operating'lever down and thereafter slide it sidewise so as to catch-the lever under the latch. I

In the operation of the ironer, thearticles "to be ironed are placed on the roll I 0, I0! or I00 tation of the roll. If small intricate articles are anaemic to be ironed, the smal1 shoe maybeused alone.

For larger articles, the largesho may be used alone or in combination with thesmall shoe, as

desired; l l A l The levers 33 andF3Bhave two parts 33a, 38a

and 33 b, 38b, respectively joined by vertical pins 330 and 3%, respectively. This permits the portions 33b and 38b to have a slight-lateral play,

but no relative vertical play, so that they may begdepressed andmoved under the latches I5;

Ifdesired; the portions 331) and38b may beprovided with a slight spring biasisuch as yby a leaf spring 38d, secured to member t flaand pressing against the lever 38 tending to rotatethem in a counterclockwise direction if about the pins 330 and 380 against a stop, so that normally they are held in a position to clear the latches in their downward movement, and can be held under the latches by friction, against the slight spring bias, when it is desiredito maintain the shoes locked against the roll.

l l l t This application is related to my depending application S. N. 282,228 filed June6, 1939 wherein the advantages of construction of a small shoe and large shoe are fully set forth.

, While the form of embodiment: of the inven-,

operator for moving one only, of said shoe members and said rotatable member together, and

said means being soconstructed and arranged that additional eifort transmitted-to said element by the operator will mov bothlof said shoe mem- 'bers and said rotatable member together.

2. An ironer comprising a rotatable ironing roll presenting an ironing surface of predetermined length, a motor drivingly connected to said roll, two rock shafts adjacent said roll, a long shoe of shorter length than said predetermined length of said ironing surface oscillatably supported on one of said rock shafts, a short shoe oscillatably supported on the other of said rock shafts, means associated with said rock shafts for selectively moving said short shoe alone or both of said shoes into ironing relation with said roll, and said long shoe and said short shoe cooperating with one another to provide aligned complementary portions of a compound shoe member having an ironing surface substantially equal to but not longer than the ironing surface, presented by said roll when both shoes are moved into ironing relation with said roll.

3. An ironer comprising a rotatable ironing member presenting an ironing surface of predetermined length, a motordrivingly connected to said rotatable member, a long ironing shoe of shorter length than said predetermined length of said ironing surface,]a short ironing. shoe,

means for moving said short shoe alone or both first named, means for energizing said motor, and said long shoe and said short shoe cooperof said shoes into ironing relationwith said ro- 1 tatable member, switch means operated by said 1 ating with one another when both shoes are 1 member to provide aligned complementary portions of a compound shoe member having an brought into ironing relation with said rotatable rotatable member. t

4. An ironer comprising a j rotatable ironing member presenting an ironing surface of predetermined length, a motor drivingly connected to said rotatabIemember, a long ironing shoe or shorter-length than'said predetermined lengthof said ironing, surface, a short ironing shoe, means for moving said short shoeal'one or 'bothof said shoes into ironing relation with said rotatable member, switch means I operated by said first named means for energizing said motor, and said long shoe and said short shoe cooperating with one another when both shoes are brought into ironing relation with said rotatable member to provide aligned complementary portions of a compound shoe member having an. ironing surface substantially equal to but not longer than the ironing surface presented by said rotatable;

member, the relationship of said first named means to said switch means being such that 1initial movement of said firstnamed means moves the shoes into ironing relation with said rotatable member and further movement energizes said switch means. i

5. An. ironer comprising, a longdroning shoe, 3

a short ironing shoe, a rotatable padded mem ber of predetermined length adapted to. carry Work tothe front of and under said shoes, means for rotating said rotatable padded, member, means deriving its power solely from physical effort of the operator :formoving said shortshoe zalonefor both of said shoes into, ironing: relation with said padded member, and said shoes cooperating with one another wh en used together to form. aligned complementary "portions of a compound; shoe member presenting a straight relativelycontinuous front to oncoming work and having an ironing surface substantially equal to but not longer than the predetermined length of said padded member.

6. Anironer comprising, a long ironing shoe, a

short ironing shoe, a rotatable padded member of predetermined length adapted to carry work to the front of and under said shoes, means for rotating said rotatable padded member, means deriving its power solely from physical efiort of the operator for moving said short shoe alone or both of said shoes into ironing relation with said padded member, said shoes cooperating with one another when used togetherto form aligned com-i plementary portions of a compound shoe member presenting a straight relatively continuousfront to oncoming work and having an ironing surface substantially equal to but not longer thanthe predetermined length of said paddedumember, said shoes having parallel meeting edges disposedat' an acute angle to the path of rotation of said padded member to prevent the formation of creases in the work when both shoes are used to gether and the leading edge of the small shoe being wider than its trailing edge to laterally extending corner thereon.

7. An ironer comprising a rotatable ironing member, a large ironing shoe, a small ironing shoe, a motor drivingly connected to said rotatable ironing membergmeans deriving its power from an element actuated solely by physicalfeffort of the operator for moving said small shoe only and said rotatable member together, and

said means being so constructed and arranged that additional efiort transmitted to said element by the operator will move both of said shoes and said rotatable member together.

ironing surface equal to butnot substantially longer than the ironing surfacefpresentedby'said provide a ironer comprising a rotatable ironing member of'predetermined length, a long ironing shOe of substantially shorter length than said predetermined length of said rotatable member, a-short'ironing shoe, a motor drivingly connected to said rotatable ironing member, means deriving its :power from an element actuated solely by physical effort of the operator for selectively mov- 'ing said short shoe alone or bothof said shoes 9. An ironer comprising a :rotatable ironing member presenting an ironing surface of predetermined length, a long ironing shoe of substantially shorter length than said predetermined length of saidr'ironin'g surface, a short ironing shoe, a motor drivingly connected to said rotatable ironing member,- means derviing its power from an element actuated solely by physical effort of the operator .for selectively moving said short shoe alone orboth of said shoes and said rotatable member together, and said long shoe and saidshort shoe being in horizontal alignment and cooperating with one another when both shoes and said rotatable member are brought together in ironing relation to form complementary portions of a compound shoe member having an'ironing surface subtsantially equal to but not longer than the ironing surface presented by said rotatable member.

10. An ironer comprising, a long ironing shoe, a short ironing shoe, a rotatable ironing member adapted to carry work to the front of and under said shoes, means for rotatin said rotatable member, means deriving its power solely iromfl physical effort of the operator for moving said short shoe alone or both of said shoes and said rotatable member together, said long shoe being substantially shorter than said rotatable ironing member, both shoes being aligned in the direction of the axis of said rotatable ironing member,and

said two shoes being not longer than the rotatable ironing member. l

11. An ironer comprising, a rotatable ironing member, a long ironing shoe, a short ironing shoe, means for rotating said rotatable member, meansv deriving its power solely from physical effort of the operator for moving one only of said shoes and said rotatable member together, a manipulator for applying power to said last named means, said means being so constructed and arranged that additional power transmitted to said manipulator by the operator will move both shoes and said rotatable member together, and said long shoe and said shortshoe cooperating with one another to form'aligned complementar portions of a compoundshoe member when both shoes and said rotatable member are brought together in ironing relation.

DONALD K. FERRIS.

CERTIFICATE OF commoner. Patent No. 2,565,519. November 2 19M.

DONALD K. FERRIS.

It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: Page 5, sec- 0nd column, line l, claim 5,'after the word "not' strike out "substantially" and insert the samebefore "equal", same line; and that the said. Letters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Office.

Signed andsealed this 27th day of February, A. D. 1915.

Leslie Frazer (Seal) Acting Commissioner of Patents. 

